Nigeria remains third most terrorised nation, says report

• ‘Boko Haram killings decreased by 80%’
A global report released yesterday says Nigeria remains one of the three most terrorised nations in the world.

The 2017 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) also indicates that killing of innocent people by the Boko Haram insurgents in the North east has decreased by 80 per cent. According to the document, Nigeria got the same ranking in 2015 and 2016. It was ranked fourth in 2014.

The Global Terrorism Index, which is in its fifth edition, is published annually by an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank organisation, Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). It monitors and measures the impact of terrorism in 163 countries, which covers 99.7 per cent of the world’s population.

The report says Iraq and Afghanistan have not had their ranking changed in the past three years and the two countries are ranked first and second in the 2017 GTI.

Among the first 10 countries that suffered the greatest impact of terrorism in 2016, according to the report, are Syria, fourth; Pakistan, fifth; Yemen, sixth; and Somalia, seventh. India, Turkey, and Libya are ranked eighth, ninth and 10th.

The report reads in part: “Where terrorism deaths attributed to Boko Haram decreased by 80 per cent, Nigeria recorded the biggest decrease in terrorism with 3,100 fewer people killed compared to 2015.

“This reflects both the success of the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram as well as fractures within the group.

“Boko Haram’s decline also contributed to significant reductions in deaths in neighbouring countries with Cameroon, Chad and Niger collectively recording a 75 per cent reduction in deaths or over 1,000 fewer deaths.”

Boko Haram, which was the deadliest terrorist group in 2014, according to the report, and recorded 6,700 deaths, is now the third deadliest, with its total number of attributable deaths dropping to 1,079 in 2016.

The report says only one attack was recorded in Nigeria among the 20 most fatal terrorist attacks globally in 2016, compared to 2014 when nine of such attacks took place in the country. The attack was reported to have occurred in January 2016 in Dalori when assailants armed with firearms and explosive devices raided the village, killing 88 people.

Globally, according to the GTI, deaths resulting from terrorism decreased by 13 per cent to 25,673 in 2016. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was the deadliest terrorist group in 2016 killing 50 per cent compared to what it killed in 2015.

“The 2016 was the group’s deadliest year ever with ISIL accountable for 9,132 deaths; the majority of which occurred in Iraq. ISIL undertook attacks in 15 countries, which is four more than the previous year. ISIL affiliated groups killed a further 2,417 people and undertook attacks in another 11 countries, although this is six less than the previous year,” according to the report.

Boko Haram, the report says, does not have sophisticated financing structure, unlike ISIL, Al-Qa’ida and the Taliban.

“The group has historically relied on one time operations to fund its activities. Some of the most common fundraising techniques include abductions for ransoms, kidnapping, extortion of various businesses and bank robberies.

“Boko Haram has also been known to raise funds by utilising a network of alliances with other terror organisations, including receiving funding from Al-Qa’ida in the Land of Islamic Maghreb,” the report stated, adding that the group sometimes receive financial support from corrupt politicians and government officials.